29/09/2021 Speyside

Speyside Blended Malt 30yo 1988/2019 (53.7%, Le Gus't, Selection XVIII, Sherry Butt, C#15A/105, 510b): nose: a comforting whiff of stewed fruits and caramel. Berry jam simmers away, and caramel coulis awaits to be poured onto a flan. Further on, heirloom apples, overripe and stewed, promise a mix of sweetness and acidity. There is also a hint of rancio and a nuance of old wood, both of which point to a dunnage warehouse. Even later on, a myrtle tart cools down on a grille, next to a basket of citrus fruits (clementines, bergamots). The second nose is more cloying and the caramel is now proper treacle. It also has something of an Indian tonic, though I cannot pinpoint what. Come to think of it, the dominant ends up being vermouth, very obviously. It is only obvious to someone with a lot of experience in vermouth, I suppose -- not my case. (Ver)mouth: dry and metallic to begin with, it develops an apricot-jam aspect. It feels warm on the palate, with hot knives and aluminium cans. If you have ever drunk a can of soda that had been left in the sun, this is close to that. It is not only the metal, actually: it feels slightly fizzy and warm-soda-like  -- unless that is very powerful auto-suggestion. The second sip makes it seem more syrupy, hinting at treacle here too, yet it remains closer to caramel, on the palate, with toffee and soda, still. I would go as far as saying salted caramel, or perhaps some salty, red-vermouth-based cocktail. Finish: thick, coating and sweet and a half, this has cough syrup, Cinzano, caramelised apricot juice, and soda residue, at the bottom of the glass. It is so sweet it feels drying, desiccating, and makes me think of a rum: an avalanche of fermented Demerara sugar that leaves the tongue like a piece of old leather. That desiccating side is so pronounced it is close to a tablespoon of salt on the taste buds; almost nonsensical, seeing as it started off with sugar. Metal is still present, even if it is much harder to detect, underneath all that sweet-and-salty syrup. What an exhausting dram! The nose was lovely, but the finish lets it down, due to its overt sweetness. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, WK)